Politics
Friday March 12, 2004
New Zealand Euthanasia Advocate's Trial for Murder Begins Next Week
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AUKLAND, March 12, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Lesley Martin, New Zealand's most notorious euthanasia advocate, is going to court on charges of attempted murder after killing her terminally ill mother 1999. Martin, who is a leading advocate for legalizing euthanasia, wrote a book about her action and police have re-opened a murder investigation in response. Martin admitted in her book, To Die Like a Dog, to giving her mother an overdose of morphine and then smothering her with a pillow. Martin maintains that her mother asked to be killed.
If convicted Martin faces a possible 14 years in prison. The trial has re-opened debate on the legalizing of euthanasia. Three people have been convicted and sentenced to jail terms of up to two years for killing their relatives. A bill which would have allowed doctor assisted suicide was recently narrowly defeated 60 to 58 in New Zealand's Parliament.
Alex Schadenberg of Canada's Euthanasia Prevention Coalition commented, "These cases seldom take into account possible coersion from relatives. Very often even if the coersion is not overt, there can be a subtle but strong pressure on very ill patients to choose to end their lives prematurely."
Guardian coverage:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1167511,00.html
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